NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Labaton Sucharow LLP filed a class action lawsuit on August 2, 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of persons or entities who purchased the publicly-traded common stock of Barrick Gold Corporation ("Barrick" or the "Company") (NYSE:ABX) on the New York Stock Exchange between May 7, 2009 and May 23, 2013, inclusive (the "Class Period").

The action charges Barrick and certain of its officers and directors with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Barrick made false and misleading statements, and concealed material information relating to the cost and time-to-production projections for the Company's Pascua-Lama Project ("Pascua-Lama" or the "Project"), a property under development as an open-pit gold and silver mine that straddles the mountainous border between Chile and Argentina.

Barrick, which is based in Toronto, Canada, is one of the world's largest gold mining companies in terms of production, reserves and market value. The complaint alleges that, during the Class Period, Barrick concealed from shareholders that: (1) the costs of bringing Pascua-Lama into production far exceeded any of Barrick's various publicly presented estimates; (2) Pascua-Lama would not come into production within any of Barrick's various publicly presented time horizons; (3) Pascua-Lama was not in compliance with key elements of its environmental protection program, imperiling the survival of the entire Project; and (4) as a result, Defendants had no reasonable basis for their statements regarding the cost, timing, and production estimates for the Project, the Company's compliance with environmental rules and regulations, or the reserves and earnings guidance for the Company.

The truth about the Pascua-Lama Project was revealed on April 10, 2013, when news media reported that the Appeals Court of Copiapó, Chile, had issued an order suspending work on Pascua-Lama. In reaction to this news, Barrick's stock price fell $2.23 per share, or 8.3 percent, to close at $24.46 per share on trading volume of more than 40 million shares.

Then, on May 24, 2013, Chile's Environmental Superintendent (Superintendencia del Medio Ambiente) issued a resolution suspending the Project pending compliance with an environmental permit, and imposing a fine equivalent to $16 million—the maximum penalty possible under Chilean law. In response to this development, trading in Barrick stock was halted for approximately three hours. After the Company's shares resumed trading, Barrick's share price closed at $19.16 per share, $0.39 per share, or 1.99 percent, below the prior day's close.

If you purchased Barrick common stock on the New York Stock Exchange during the Class Period, you may be able to seek appointment as Lead Plaintiff. Lead Plaintiff motion papers must be filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York no later than August 5, 2013. A lead plaintiff is a court-appointed representative for absent Class members. You do not need to seek appointment as lead plaintiff to share in any Class recovery in this action. If you are a Class member and there is a recovery for the Class, you can share in that recovery as an absent Class member. You may retain counsel of your choice to represent you in this action.

If you would like to consider serving as lead plaintiff or have any questions about the lawsuit, you may contact Rachel A. Avan, Esq. of Labaton Sucharow LLP, at (800) 321-0476 or (212) 907-0709, or via email at ravan@labaton.com.

Labaton Sucharow LLP, with offices in New York, New York and Wilmington, Delaware, is one of the country's premier law firms representing institutional investors in class action and complex securities litigation, as well as consumers and businesses in class actions seeking to recover damages for anticompetitive practices. The Firm has been a champion of investor and consumer rights for nearly 50 years, seeking recovery of current losses and necessary governance reforms to protect investors and consumers. Labaton Sucharow has been recognized for its excellence by the courts and its peers. More information about Labaton Sucharow is available at www.labaton.com.